Listen to excerpts from Outlook's India, Identify, Gender, Health issue by Pragya Vats
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00:00 I am Pragya and I bring to you excerpts from the current issue of Outlook,
00:04 which looks at two cover stories.
00:06 One, ground reports from five states going to polls through three vectors of identity,
00:11 gender and health.
00:13 And will the outcome decide which way the wind will blow in the 2024 general elections?
00:18 Second cover story continues to be on Palestine, titled "From the River to the Sea".
00:24 Home for Hope by Haimardesh Pandey.
00:26 Snehawan in Pune is home to children of farmers who have died by suicide.
00:31 Within its gates, they find a place to nurture their dreams.
00:35 Children of all age groups are scattered around the two acre complex with its gaily painted walls.
00:42 In their yellow t-shirts and blue sweatpants,
00:45 they look like sunflowers blooming in that walled space.
00:49 Some are playing, while some others sit under trees
00:52 with their books and pencils jotting on their notebooks.
00:55 The complex, with its multi-coloured building, is Snehawan.
00:59 Home to 60 children, all bound by their sad tales of personal loss.
01:04 A parent who has died by suicide.
01:07 They're all children of farmers from different parts of Maharashtra,
01:10 from impoverished families, whose parents, predominantly fathers,
01:14 chose suicide rather than see another debt-ridden day.
01:18 Snehawan, with its white and blue painted buildings,
01:21 some with low roofing, three storey, under construction,
01:25 and some built with large shipping containers,
01:28 is a place that teaches children from the poorest of families that they too can have dreams.
01:34 32-year-old Ashok Deshmane, an IT professional who gave up his job to look after these children,
01:41 spent his childhood and teenager years in abject poverty.
01:44 He convinced the next kin to send the children to Snehawan,
01:48 located 200 km away from Mumbai, in Chakan, in Khed Taluka of Pune district.
01:55 Convincing the surviving parent, often a farmer's widow,
01:58 whose relatives have a major say in the future of children in the households hit by suicide,
02:04 is a challenging task.
02:05 When every child is a farmhand, the families are not too keen on educating them.
02:11 They are poor and their biggest challenge is to get the next meal, says Deshmane,
02:16 whose work with these children has been applauded by many.
02:20 Since 2015, when he took in the first lot of children and started looking after them
02:26 in two rented 10x10 feet rooms in Bhosari, an industrial hub near Pune, he has come a long way.
02:33 Snehawan is a happy place with its chatter and laughter.
02:37 Deshmane and his 26-year-old wife Archana keep it so.
02:42 He says his sole aim is to empower as many children as he can with the funds he has,
02:48 with education and skills that will make them job creators instead of job seekers.
02:54 They are smart and show a willingness to learn.
02:57 None of them will be farmers.
02:58 They have their dreams and Snehawan is where they learn that dreams can be fulfilled.
03:05 For this and more, read the current issue of Outlook.